


Not A Second To Waste

by 0bviousLeigh



Series: Children of War [12]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 08:00:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8004925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0bviousLeigh/pseuds/0bviousLeigh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There’s a place in the park that Yuri quite likes, a small path that goes by a pond. Sometimes there will be a couple of rowdy teens hanging about, but Yuri usually steers clear of them. Today, the rowdy teens are already at his favorite spot when he arrives, there are two of them and they have been drinking. There’s shattered glass all over the ground, and the place reeks of beer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. If I Am A Clock

**Author's Note:**

> Warning for the following-use of gay slurs by antagonistic fuckboys, swearing, brief violence against an animal, and blood. Also a warning for the beating your hearts about to take I TORMENT YURI BECAUSE I LOVE HIM
> 
> Work title inspired by the song of the same name by the group 'A Rocket to the Moon'

Sometimes Yuri likes to go for long walks, just himself and Stitch. Most of the time he’ll go out with Serena, or Yuya, or Yoko and Yusho along with the rest of the household dogs, but sometimes Yuri likes it to be just himself and his dog. He’s been warned to stay away from certain places, and not to go out alone at night, and he heeds those warnings. Once feared soldier and duelist he may be, he’s left those days behind him, and he’s not looking to get into trouble any more.

There’s a place in the park that Yuri quite likes, a small path that goes by a pond. It’s quiet and not many people use it, probably because the path is a bit overgrown and the pond has nothing but algae in it. Sometimes there will be a couple of rowdy teens hanging about, but Yuri usually steers clear of them. Today, the rowdy teens are already at his favorite spot when he arrives, there are two of them and they have been drinking. There’s shattered glass all over the ground, and the place reeks of beer.

Yuri wrinkles his nose. “Gross,” he mutters.

One of the boys looks up. “Th’ fuck you say?” He slurs.

Yuri shakes his head. “Kids come here,” he says. “You shouldn’t leave such a mess.”

The boys leer at him. “Is that right? Why don’t you come over here and make us care, then?”

Yuri turns and starts to walk home.

“Thought so,” one boy laughs, “Look at him run. Prissy little fag.”

Yuri stops dead in his tracks. He whirls around, teeth bared. “Don’t use that word, you hateful human.”

The boy gets to his feet. “Did I hit a nerve?” He slurs. He approaches Yuri and shoves his shoulder.

Yuri stumbles and drops Stitch’s leash. “Don’t touch me.”

The boy smirks. Yuri suddenly realizes that these boys are older than him, and though they have been drinking, they are stronger and bigger than he is.

“What did you say?” The boy asks. “Touch me please, teach me to be a man?”

Yuri gulps and staggers back. The boy reaches out and grabs Yuri by his collar, pulling him close. Yuri smells the alcohol on his breath and he flinches back.

The boy growls, “You’re not even worth it.”

He throws Yuri aside. Yuri tries to brace himself before he falls, and pain shoots through his hand. He cries out in pain, and then he hears a snarling bark.

Yuri gasps. “Stitch, no!”

He hears a yelp, and his dog goes flying, and lets out a pained sound when he lands hard on the ground. Yuri screams. In a panic he races to Stitch, scoops him up, and runs like hell.

 

Yuto’s up in his room, ‘ _thinking about what he did._ ’ He’s been suspended from school for getting into a fight, though the fight wasn’t on school grounds, it was outside the train station and he was beating up two guys who thought it was funny to take pictures up girl’s skirts as they walked up the stairs. But he was in uniform, and the cops complained, so here he is, lying on his bed and thinking about the makeup work he’s going to have to do next week when he goes back to school. He supposes he should be glad he didn’t get arrested, like those boys threatened to have happen, he suspects Reiji had a hand in the appearance of video footage which showed the boys taking the upskirt shots.

“SOMEBODY HELP ME!”

Yuto shoots up and flies to his door. “Yuri is that you?!”

“YUTO!” Yuri screams from the first floor.

Yuto runs down the stairs and skids to a halt in the entry. Yuri is in tears, he’s cradling Stitch to his chest, and his left hand is covered in blood.

“What happened?” Yuto gasps.

Yuri sobs, “They kicked him! They kicked him and he landed hard, and he cries when I touch his side and he’s not breathing right, I don’t know what to do, Yuto!”

It takes Yuto a minute to realize that Yuri is talking about the dog. He holds out his hands and takes Stitch, and that’s when Yuto realizes that the blood is coming from Yuri’s hand.

“Yuri, your hand!” Yuto cries.

Yuri screams, “HELP HIM, HE’S HURTING!”

Yuto puts Stitch down on the couch and takes his phone from his pocket. He dials Yoko’s number, and realizes that Yuri is right about Stitch not breathing properly, it’s too fast and shallow.

_“Hello?”_

“Yoko, Yuri’s been hurt—”

Yuri screams, “Stitch!”

“Stitch, too,” Yuto says, “Yuri’s bleeding, and Stitch isn’t breathing right.”

 _“Stop the bleeding,”_ Yoko says firmly. _“I’m on my way.”_

Yuto hangs up. Yuri is on his knees next to the sofa, sobbing over his dog.

“Yuri, come with me” Yuto says urgently, “We have to clean your hand.”

“No!” Yuri screams, “I’m not leaving him, you can’t make me!”

Yuto swears and runs to the bathroom. He grabs a towel and brings it to Yuri. He grabs Yuri’s wrist and pulls his hand close, and he swears again.

“Yuri, is this fucking glass?!”

Yuri doesn’t seem to hear. His hand looks like it went through a blender. There are deep and shallow cuts, and the deepest cut has a glittering piece of glass stuck in it. Yuto is scared to take it out, he doesn’t know how deeply embedded it is, and he seems to remember that there’s a large vein in the hand, but he could be wrong. What if he pulls the glass out and he makes things worse? What if he applies pressure and that makes things worse? He’s not equipped for this.

Yuto covers Yuri’s hand with the towel and applies light pressure. He looks up at Yuri to see if there’s any sign of pain, but Yuri has eyes only for his dog. Yuto chews on his lip, watching blood start to stain the towel. Yusho and Yoko went to get groceries, they probably haven’t gone far, but there’s an awful lot of blood…should Yuto have called an emergency service? What if they took even longer? Yusho and Yoko would have only taken one car, and there is a second one, Yuto could take Yuri to the hospital himself…but he doesn’t have a license, if they got pulled over they would be in trouble, but would the cops care if they saw Yuri bleeding?

Lost in his thoughts, Yuto doesn’t notice the time ticking by until he hears a car pull into the driveway, Yusho and Yoko are finally back, thank god. But Yuto feels sick to his stomach—nothing has gotten any better. Not Yuri, not Stitch, not Yuto.

Yoko takes one look at Yuri’s hand and says they need to go to the hospital. Yusho says that he’ll take Stitch to the vet.

Yuri lets out a heart-wrenching scream. “No!” He wails, “Please, I have to stay with him, I have to!”

Yoko cups Yuri’s face in her hands. “Listen to me,” she says firmly, “Stitch needs to see a doctor, just like you. You have lost a lot of blood, and you are still bleeding. You can’t let your hand go untreated.”

Yuri doesn’t seem to be able to comprehend. Yusho scoops Stitch off the couch, and he lets out a little whimper, which sends Yuri to pieces. He doubles over, crying so hard that there’s no way he’s breathing at all.

Yusho takes Stitch to his car, and Yoko and Yuto half-drag, half-carry Yuri to the other car. Yoko drives as fast as she can to the ER, and in the backseat Yuto takes his hands off Yuri’s shoulders for only a minute to send a text to Yuya, telling him to ditch class and get his butt to the hospital as soon as he can, because he’s sure that Yuya is the only one who could possibly get through to Yuri at this point.

The second the trio get inside the emergency room, a nurse is at Yuri’s side. They’re taken to an examination room straight away, and Yoko tells Yuto to get Yuri on the bed and hold his shoulders while the doctor gives him an IV line. The last time Yuri got an IV, he didn’t like it one bit. Now all Yuri does is lie in the bed and cry. The doctor picks glass out of the wound, and cleans it with something that smells like it ought to be painful. Yuri never flinches. They hook him up to fluids and a small bag of blood.

“He needs stitches,” the doctor says.

Yuri hears that. He sits upright, his eyes wide. “I want my dog,” he whimpers.

“Stitch is at the vet,” Yoko says, her hand on Yuri’s cheek. “Remember, sweetie?”

“He got hurt,” Yuri gasps, “And it’s my fault.”

“No,” Yoko and Yuto say together.

Yuto’s phone buzzes. He glances at the screen and answers. “Yuya…” he begins, but Yuya cuts him off.

 _“Where are you?!”_ Yuya shouts in Yuto's ear.

Yuto tells him the room number and the call disconnects. Yuto turns to Yuri. “Yuya’s coming, he’s on his way.”

“Yuya?” Yuri repeats.

Yoko gives Yuto a sharp look, Yuto shrugs helplessly. He’s saved from having to say anything when Yuya stumbles into the room, uniform askew, and Yugo behind him.

“Both of you?” Yoko sighs.

Yuya pushes his way past the doctors and onto the bed with Yuri. Yuto backs away and lets Yuya take over.

“Yuri, I’m here,” Yuya says, his hands on Yuri’s shoulders. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.”

“Yuya,” Yuri sobs, “I’m so, so sorry.”

“Sorry?” Yuya parrots, “What on earth for? You don’t—”

“I couldn’t keep him safe,” Yuri wails, “You gave him to me and he got hurt, I shouldn’t have said anything, I shouldn’t have even gone alone, I should’ve asked someone to come with me.” Yuri goes limp and he slumps against Yuya. He shrieks, “Everything I touch gets destroyed!”

The doctor injects something into Yuri’s IV line. “It’s a sedative,” he says over Yuri’s continued cries, “He’s having a panic attack. It’s a fast acting sedative so he should be, at least, breathing properly in a few seconds.”

Yuya holds Yuri and tells him, over and over, “It wasn’t your fault,” but when Yuri finally stops screaming and starts breathing, everyone knows it’s because of the sedative.

Yuya lays Yuri down on the bed and sits beside him, stroking his hair. The doctor takes Yuri’s injured hand, injects a numbing solution into it, and soon begins to stitch the larger cuts closed.

“What exactly happened?” Yoko asks.

“I don’t know,” Yuto says. “He just said…someone kicked…” he can’t bring himself to say Stitch’s name, out of concern for Yuri.

“Ask him,” Yoko says, and Yuto realizes she’s talking to Yuya.

Yuya nods and leans over Yuri, bending close to him. “Yuri, who did this to you?”

Yuri sniffles and tears leak from his eyes. Yuto looks away, tears swimming in his own eyes.

“Where did you go?” Yuya prompts.

“The park,” Yuri whispers. “By the lake…there were some boys, there was glass, I told them they shouldn’t leave a mess. They said I was…they said…”

“It’s okay,” Yuya says as Yuri struggles, “Just tell me about your hand.”

Yuri nods, “One of them pushed me, I told him not to but he grabbed me and threw me aside. I landed on my hand, then I heard Stitch barking.” Yuri closes his eyes and shakes his head. “He was trying to protect me, and they kicked him, and he landed so hard and I knew he was hurt, I didn’t know what do, I ran home as fast as I could…” Yuri gasps, “What if he’s really hurt? Yuya, what if they killed him?”

“No,” Yuya says firmly, “That didn’t happen. Stitch is going to be just fine, you’ll see.”

“I’ll call Yusho now,” Yoko says. She moves to the side, and the doctor finishes up with the stitches. A nurse wraps Yuri’s hand in gauze, and the doctor gives Yuri a few more shots.

“To keep possible infections away,” he explains when he sees Yuto watching. Yuto nods, and anger boils in his stomach. Yuri didn’t deserve this.

Yoko goes to Yuri. “Good news, honey,” she says, “The vet said Stitch’s ribs are fine, nothing is broken or cracked, just bruised. They are going to keep him overnight so they can make sure he’s healing okay.”

“All night?” Yuri asks, his eyes wide with fear.

Yoko lays her hand on Yuri’s forehead. “Yes, just like you, sweetie. You’re going to stay here over night so you can get some rest, and so the doctors can make sure that you’re okay.”

‘ _More like make sure he doesn’t try to kill himself again,_ ’ Yuto thinks.

“But I don’t wanna,” Yuri whines, “I wanna go see Stitch, he’s all by himself, it’s not fair…”

“He’s not,” Yuya says, “He’s got doctors and nurses looking out for him. I bet my dad told everyone how important he is, I bet he’s getting the VIP treatment.”

Yuri sniffles. “Do you think he’s mad at me?”

Yuto’s heart breaks into a million tiny pieces.

“No,” Yuya says, somehow managing to smile. “He’s not mad at you. You carried him all the way home, you made sure he got help. You were so brave today, Yuri.”

The sedative must be kicking in, because Yuri’s eyes keep fluttering shut. “I miss him,” Yuri says, his eyes on Yuya. “I’m scared…”

The millions of pieces of Yuto’s heart break into two million pieces. He closes his eyes and balls his hands into fists. Yuri didn’t deserve this.

“I’ll stay with you,” Yuya says. “I’ll keep you safe. Yuto and Yugo will too, right?”

Yuto opens his eyes. He nods, and Yugo babbles that they will, they’ll stay. Yuto glances at Yugo and realizes that he’s crying.

Yuya kicks off his shoes and tosses aside his jacket. He settles back against Yuri’s pillow and hugs Yuri against his chest. “See, I’ve got you,” Yuya says. “Get some rest, Yuri.”

Yuri snuggles into Yuya’s side and closes his eyes. “Don’t go,” he mutters.

“I won’t,” Yuya says.

In a few more minutes, Yuri falls asleep, his head pillowed on Yuya’s chest. Yuto and Yugo pull chairs next to Yuri’s bed and sit down, and Yoko steps outside to call the high school, her husband, and Shuzo. She comes back only to leave again, since Sora still needs to be told about this, and she mentions something about contacting Reiji and finding out what can be done about the punks that did this to Yuri.

“The cops won’t be able to help,” Yuto says when Yoko leaves. “It was a public park, there weren’t any security cameras.”

Yuya closes his eyes. “It’s not fair,” he says.

Yuto clenches his hands into fists. “No, it isn’t. We have to do something.”

“What the heck can we do?” Yugo asks.

Yuto frowns. There has to be something. The four of them are supposed to be able to do anything, but Yuri is out of commission, Yuya is out as long as Yuri is, and it’s down to himself and Yugo. He has no idea how to bring these people to justice, what can be done to even find them.

Time passes, Yuto has no idea how much, but Yoko isn’t back yet so it can’t be that long. Yuri stirs in his sleep and he whimpers, “Please…don’t hurt my dog…”

Yuto sees red, and he wishes he could punch something. The face of the people who did this would be a great target.

“He doesn’t even care that they hurt him,” Yugo says, his tone barely restrained. “He’s so worried about Stitch.”

Yuri sobs in his sleep.

“Shh, Yuri,” Yuya whispers, bending his head and pressing his lips to Yuri’s forehead. “It’s okay, you’re safe here, and Stitch is safe, too.”

Yuri clings to Yuya and wriggles even closer to him. His eyes stay shut, but he takes deep, shuddering breaths, and he has a white-knuckled grip on Yuya’s shirt. Whatever Yuri is seeing in his dreams, it’s something that terrifies him.

Yuya cards his fingers through Yuri’s hair. “Yuri, I’ve got you. I’m going to keep you both safe, I promise.”

With each brush of Yuya’s hand through his hair, Yuri relaxes. Yuya covers one of Yuri’s hands with his own, and moves it over his heart. Yuto isn’t blind, he knows that Yuri has been fixated on Yuya for some time, and the way Yuya looks at Yuri now…it’s not the look friends share. It reminds Yuto of how Shun looked at him when they got moments of peace during the resistance.

“Yuya,” Yuto says sharply, “You better be willing to do something about that when this is over.”

Yuya’s head snaps up. “What?” He asks.

“Yeah,” Yugo says, “What are you on about?”

Yuto glares at Yuya. “I’ve seen the way Yuri looks at you. The way you’re acting now, you better not be giving him false hope. I know how he’s going to interpret this when he wakes up, and I think you know it, too. You better not be planning to play around with his heart.”

Yuya looks pained. “I would never, never take Yuri’s heart lightly.”

Yugo’s jaw drops. “Oooooooh.”

Yuya continues, “But I don’t want to take advantage of him. He’s so fragile right now, I don’t want him to think that I feel sorry for him. I do, but that’s not the only reason…that’s not why I would be…I just wish we could have talked about this.”

“What were you waiting for?” Yuto asks.

Yuya scowls. “For him to recover!” He hisses. “I know he’s in a bad place, mentally. I know he’s confused. I am, too!” His voice takes on a desperate tone, “I don’t want to hurt him, I don’t want to do something wrong and set him back.”

Yuto shakes his head. “You’ll be waiting forever, and so will he. I understand that you want to do the right thing and let him come to you, but I think you may need to take that step.”

“I mean,” Yugo interrupts, “I saw this coming, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t, but I thought it was just Yuri. How did this happen? When did it happen?”

Yuya shrugs and rubs Yuri’s back. “Who knows? How does anything like this happen?” He looks down at Yuri. “He’s changed so much, and he’s actually handled it with so much grace. It’s amazing, what happens when you get people out of bad situations and into a place where they can thrive. He used to be afraid of dogs, remember? But he bonded with Stitch, and he made Peri a cape, even though he’s afraid of snakes. He thinks about how others feel, he wants to make them happy, he wants friends and a family. He wants to live, and he wants to live a life he can be proud of. I admire that about him. He reminds me of myself, after my dad disappeared. It would have been so easy for me to lock myself away, become cold and bitter, and afraid of everyone. I could have let everyone who said I was the son of a coward dictate who I became. But I didn’t do that, and it took some time but I became someone I was proud of, who didn’t let others define me.”

Yuto nods and says, “And the more you realized that, the more you fell for him.”

Yuya looks up. “I didn’t plan this.”

“People rarely do,” Yuto says dryly. “I fell in love right before a war. That was no picnic either. I know you want to wait until you’re both healthy, and I respect that. But sometimes, you just can’t wait. Yuri will probably be stronger if he knows that he’s not alone in what he feels, I know I was. I felt terrible for wishing that Shun and I could just have a few minutes alone, when we were surrounded by so much destruction. As angry as I was for the loss of innocence, I was angry because I lost something that I had gotten a taste for, only to lose it before I could enjoy it. When I told Shun about that, I was worried he would think I was horrible. But he understood, and talking about it made us stronger.” Yuto shakes his head. “Honestly, we know we’re stronger when there’s no secrets between us.”

Yuya sighs. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. You usually are, aren’t you?”

“I spent months as a spiritual being,” Yuto says, standing and stretching his arms over his head. “Of course I’m on a higher plane than the rest of you.”

“Higher—? Now wait just a second,” Yugo sputters.

“What the crap?” Yuto mutters as he shifts his weight and realizes that his deck holder is burning in his jacket pocket. He didn’t even realize that it was on him when he left the house. He dumps his cards out and realizes that Dark Rebellion is glowing, and probably has been for a while judging by how hot the card is. He touches it, and the dragon practically screams at him.

Yuto winces and closes his eyes. “Dark Rebellion knows how we can find the guys who did this,” he gasps.

Yugo reaches into his backpack and grabs his own deck holder, tossing it between his hands as he yelps, “Hot, very hot!” He takes out a glowing card, and Yuto knows that it’s Clear Wing.

Yuto rummages through Yuya’s bag and grabs Odd-Eyes and Starve Venom. Both cards are glowing, too, and when he touches them an image flashes before his eyes—the pond by the park.

“I have to go,” Yuto says, blinking the image away. “Yugo, come with me.”

“Where are you going?” Yuya demands, sitting up a bit and stopping as Yuri whines in his sleep.

“Don’t worry,” Yuto says, “We’re going to take care of this. You stay here and take care of Yuri, we’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, what he said,” Yugo says.

“Be careful!” Yuya calls as Yuto leads the way out of the room.

“We will!” Yugo yells back.

Yuto keeps his eyes on the three dragons in his hands. “Show me what to do,” Yuto tells the dragons.


	2. Then You Are The Time

“Seriously, what are we doing?” Yugo pants as he tries to keep up with Yuto. For being, essentially, the same person, Yuto’s strides seem a lot longer than Yugo’s.

“The dragons are telling me,” Yuto says, his eyes still on the cards. They’re almost at the park, and Yuto can almost feel a pulsing coming from the cards, like a heartbeat.

“Can you tell me what they’re telling you?” Yugo asks. “Or let me hold them? Because Clear Wing isn’t doing much talking and I would very much like to know what we’re getting into here, are we walking into a fight? I would like my bike if there’s gonna be a fight—”

They round a bend in the path and Yuto hushes Yugo. The pond is in front of them, and Yuto uses his phone to shine a light on the ground. Broken glass glitters among the gravel, and Yuto sees a dark spot on the ground. He crouches over the dark spot and a fly buzzes up off of it.

“That’s blood,” Yuto says. _‘Yuri’s blood.’_

Yuto’s vision whites out. He yelps and stands, shaking his head. That felt too much like Berserk, and he doesn’t want to revisit that. In his shock, he dropped the dragon cards.

“Are you out of your mind?” Yugo snaps, picking up the cards that Yuto dropped. He holds all four dragons in one hand.

“Wait a minute!” Yuto cries. He grabs Yugo’s wrist, and suddenly he’s seeing the pond in the middle of the day. There are two boys by the edge of the water, and Yuri and Stitch are approaching from the path.

“What is this?” Yugo asks.

“We’re seeing it happen,” Yuto says.

A deep voice echoes around them. “ **We were not present, but we are part of Yuri as he is part of us. We know what transpired here. Let us show you.** ”

Yuto and Yugo watch Yuri tell the boys off. They hear the one boy taunt Yuri, using slurs against him. Yuto’s blood boils.

_“What did you say? Touch me please, teach me to be a man?”_

Yuto screams in absolute fury, and it’s a sound that Yugo echoes. They watch Yuri fall, watch his hand bleed, and they watch as he doesn’t seem to notice his own injury, his concern and horror reserved for his dog, who tries to defend Yuri and gets kicked aside for it. Yuri screams. The vision fades.

Yuto falls to his knees, his head in his hands. Anger floods him, anger he hasn’t felt since he watched Heartland be destroyed.

“We have to find them,” Yugo growls. Yuto looks up. Yugo is staring at the cards in his hands, his pupils dilated and his lips drawn back in a snarl.

Yuto snatches Dark Rebellion and Odd-Eyes from Yugo’s hands, and his expression calms slightly.

“We can’t hold all the dragons at once, just one of us,” Yuto says.

That same deep voice Yuto heard during the vision echoes around them once more. “ **We want to help.** ”

“The dragons are talking now?!” Yugo cries, and indeed, it is the voice of the dragons.

“ **We can take you to those horrible people,** ” the dragons say.

“And what do we do when we find them?” Yugo asks.

“You really need to ask?” Yuto chuckles darkly. “After what we spent months doing?”

Yugo glances down at Clear Wing and Starve Venom. He bites his lip. “I don’t know if I can…for that very reason. And I’m so mad, you are too…what if we lose control?”

“We won’t,” Yuto says firmly. “And we have to do this, for Yuri.”

Yugo’s gaze hardens and he nods. “Okay, for Yuri and Stitch.”

“Yuri and Stitch,” Yuto echoes. He takes a deep breath. “Okay dragons, show us the way.”

“Can we grab my bike?” Yugo whines.

“No time!” Yuto cries. Really, he just doesn’t want to ride Yugo and Rin’s jigsaw puzzle of a death-trap.

 

The hospital allows Yuya to stay overnight with Yuri. Yuya convinces Sora and his mom and dad that Yuto and Yugo just went for a walk to cool off, they’ll be home soon, and they should all go home and get some rest, as well as be there for Yugo and Yuto when they get home.

Alone with Yuri, Yuya tries to think about what his next move should be, but he’s so drained and worried that he just can’t. All he can do it stare at Yuri and watch his expression change as he sleeps.

Yuri wakes up around midnight, tears in his eyes and yelling for Stitch. He’s aware enough to realize that Yuya is with him, and he starts blubbering apologies for not being able to take care of the dog that Yuya gave him.

“Stop,” Yuya pleads, and Yuri falls silent. “I didn’t want to do this like this,” Yuya says. He cups Yuri’s face in his hands. “Yuri, do you know how proud of you I am?”

Yuri blinks at him. “Proud?”

“So proud,” Yuya says, his voice breaking. “You’ve grown up a lot, and you’ve become such a good person.”

“But…but Stitch got hurt…”

“And you got him help,” Yuya says. “Yuri, have you noticed your hand at all?”

Yuri looks down at his hand. Indeed, he seems to only just notice the thick bandages around it.

“You cut your hand on the broken glass,” Yuya says.

Some of Yuri’s attitude seems to come back. “I told them someone could get hurt.” He says, his eyes narrowed to a glare, “I said kids come by. What asses.”

Yuya sobs. He hugs Yuri so tightly that Yuri groans.

“Yuya, what?”

“Listen to you,” Yuya says, “You’re so worried about Stitch, and injury to others, Yuri you got hurt, too! You lost a lot of blood, you could get an infection, I’m so scared for you and if I were you I would be terrified, but you’re so worried about everyone else.” Yuya leans back and wipes his eyes. “You are amazing, do you know that?”

Yuri opens and closes his mouth a few times.

Yuya’s heart pounds in his chest, and he takes Yuri’s hands. “Yuri, when you get out of here, and when Stitch is all better…can we go to that café that you love so much? Just us.”

Yuri’s eyes widen. “Just us?” He repeats.

Yuya smiles through his tears. “Yeah. Like a date. Can we do that? Do you think you’re ready for something like that?”

“I don’t know,” Yuri says, “But I want to.”

“Then we can try,” Yuya says. “I hoped that, that we could do this when you felt better, I was worried that I was taking advantage of you…”

Yuri actually snorts. “Oh please,” he says, rolling his eyes, “You couldn’t take advantage of me if you tried.”

Yuya laughs. He hugs Yuri and laughs, and ends up sobbing on his shoulder.

“Yuya?”

“When Yuto told me that you had been attacked…I was so scared,” Yuya says. “I was terrified for you. And when I saw how upset you were, I was so mad at myself for not talking to you earlier. You told me that everything you touch gets destroyed, and I just wish that I had told you how much I admired you, so you would know that it wasn’t true. You didn’t do anything wrong.” He sits up again and presses his forehead to Yuri’s. “Please, I can’t stand to think of you feeling like that. Please believe me when I tell you that it isn’t true, and if you can’t believe it, let me help you.”

Yuri takes a shaky breath. “I believe you,” he says, his voice barely a whisper. “I don’t know why but I do.”

Yuya sighs in relief. He leans back. Yuri looks at him nervously.

“Yuri, what’s wrong?” Yuya asks.

Yuri curls his fingers into the sheets. He leans forward and kisses Yuya’s cheek. When he sits back, he’s blushing.

Yuya smiles. “Thanks,” he says.

Yuri frowns. “Aren’t you going to return the gesture?”

Yuya laughs. He places his hands on Yuri’s jaw, and he peppers kisses all over Yuri’s face, until both of them fall back on the bed, holding each other tightly and giggling.

 

Yuto and Yugo follow the dragons. It’s hard to describe what the dragons look like, not like holograms or solid vision, more like ghosts. Barely-visible beings that fly through solid objects as if they don’t even exist. Somewhere between following the dragons and hollering at Yugo to keep up with him, Yuto texted Shun to let him know that he was about to engage the bastards who hurt Yuri in a fight. He promised to keep Shun updated, and his phone has been buzzing with near constant messages ever since, but Yuto hasn’t checked them. The dragons are agitated, they’re moving fast, and maybe they should have taken the bike, but they’re going to opposite direction of home, and Yuto just knows they don’t have a lot of time to waste.

The dragons slow down when they come to another park. It has to be nearing midnight, they’re not in Maiami City anymore, and this park is not somewhere Yuto would want to be otherwise. The dragons fade and vanish, and the cards in Yuto’s hands burn hot again. He hears laughter and runs towards it, and he sees two teenage boys sitting under a street lamp.

“Hey!” Yuto hollers.

The boys look up. Yuto recognizes their faces.

“Oh look,” One boy says. “It’s the crybaby. You back for more?”

Rage surrounds Yuto. He activates his duel disk, and slides the burning hot dragon cards into his deck.

“My name is Yuto,” Yuto snarls, “And you fucked with my brother.”

Yugo joins Yuto, and the boys look thrown for a second.

“Your brother?” The one boy echoes.

“That’s right,” Yugo says, activating his own duel disk. “Our brother.”

Yuto says, “Nobody fucks with our family. You guys need to learn some manners.”

The boys activate their own duel disks. “Maybe your brother is the one who needs to learn some manners. He sicced his dog on us, you know.”

“THAT WAS HIS SERVICE DOG,” Yuto screams, drawing cars from his deck.

“YOU KICKED A SERVICE DOG,” Yugo yells.

A strong gust of wind blows between the duelists. The boys glance at each other. They look unsure, now. It’s not enough, Yuto wants them to be scared.

“I’m going first,” Yuto says. He glances at the cards in his hand, and sets them all face down on the field.

One of the other boys goes. Yuto doesn’t care what he does, he’s not going to win.

Yugo goes. He summons his tuner monsters, and brings out Clear Wing on his first turn. It’s not his usual style, but Yuto is prepared to bet that Clear Wing itself played a hand in the early summon.

The second boy starts his turn. Like Yuto, he places all his cards face down, and Yuto is instantly on edge.

The second boy ends his turn. Now the fun can begin. Yuto already knows what he’s going to do, he’s going to build the overlay network and summon Dark Rebellion. His dragon is itching to get its claws into these punks, Yuto reaches for his deck to draw his card.

“Excuse me,” Sora calls, “Can we join?”

Yuto and Yugo turn around. Sora didn’t come alone, Dennis and Noboru are with him.

“What are you doing here?” Yuto asks.

Sora glowers at the two duelists across the field. “What did you expect, that I would let you two have all the fun? Nobody fucks with our brother.”

“He’s your brother too?” One boy asks. “Christ, how many are you?”

“Must be adopted,” the other boy says. “That or they have some slutty parents.”

“Oh it’s fucking on!” Sora cries. He joins the fight, and quick as a flash he fusion summons Frightfur Bear. Dennis joins in with his Performer Pals, and Noboru with a synchro summoned Superheavy Samurai Ogre Shutendoji.

Noboru ends his turn, and there’s a voice from behind them again.

“Stand aside, friends,” Serena says coldly, elbowing her way between Dennis and Noboru, “I want in.”

“As do I,” Shun says, moving to stand beside Yuto. Yuzu, Rin, and Ruri are close behind.

“This is insane,” One of the fuckboys says, looking around wildly. “This is against the rules.”

Serena draws her cards, and a strange wind circles around her. “You threw the rules out the window when you FUCKED WITH MY BROTHER!” She screams. She sets her cards.

The other fuckboy asks, “How many people are going to claim to be this guy’s brother tonight?”

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done to him?” Dennis shouts, ignoring the taunt.

“He was getting better!” Shun says. “He was finally healing!”

“It’s bad enough that you hurt him when he did nothing to you!” Sora says, “But you fucking kicked his dog! What kind of people are you?”

“They did what?!” Shun, Serena, Yuzu, Rin, and Ruri all yell at once.

Yuzu turns to the boys with a fire blazing in her eyes. “You hurt Stitch?!”

“He’s a service dog!” Rin cries.

“YOU HAVE OFFICIALLY FUCKED WITH THE WRONG GROUP OF PEOPLE!” Ruri screams.

“Indeed they have,” says a very familiar voice.

Everyone turns to the new voice. It’s Reiji, and Reira is with him. Reiji raises his duel disk.

“This is now a battle royal,” he announces. Yuto and Yugo hadn’t bothered with an action field, but one appears, and a robotic voice announces that action cards have been dispersed.

Yuto feels like a beast is clawing at his chest from the inside, waiting to be let loose on these pathetic fools. He grins at the duelists, and he knows it looks feral.

“Here we go,” Yuto says. He hears the roar of four dragons in response.

 

At some point, Yuri and Yuya fall asleep. When Yuya wakes up, his mother is sitting by Yuri’s bed, her face anxious.

“Mom?” Yuya calls quietly, “What’s wrong?”

Yoko bites her lip. “I can’t get in touch with anyone.”

Yuya’s heart pounds. “Anyone?”

“Yuto, Yugo, Sora, not even Reiji. And Shuzo says Shun and the girls are gone, too.”

Yuya remembers Yuto’s vow for revenge. “Um…I think they might be looking for the people who did this to Yuri.”

Yoko’s expression changes to one of relief. “I knew it,” she sighs, “Oh thank god it was just that.” She grins. “Reminds me of my own youth. You kids really do take after your parents.”

“You’re not mad?” Yuya asks.

“Of course I am,” Yoko says, “They are so grounded when they get home. I mean I understand, but for goodness sake they should have told me.” She narrows her eyes at Yuya. “You could have told me.”

Yuya stammers, “I didn’t know how long they’d be gone, I didn’t even know where they were going! And Yuri, I couldn’t leave him, not even for a second, he’s been having nightmares all night, or well for most of the night…” He glances down at Yuri. He’s still sleeping, and Yuya lowers his voice. “Mom I…I asked Yuri to go on a date with me.”

“You did?” Yoko asks. “When?”

“He was having a nightmare, he was so upset,” Yuya swallows down a lump in his throat. “I just started telling him about how proud and happy I was for him, and everything spilled out at once. I’m just so scared that I’ll do something wrong and hurt him even more. I don’t want that.”

Yoko moves to the other side of the bed and wraps her arms around Yuya’s shoulders. “Baby, I’m so happy for you.”

“You are?”

Yoko kisses Yuya’s forehead. “He told me that he liked you,” she whispers. “He was worried I wouldn’t love him if he did. This has been coming for some time, and I’m glad that you two brought it up on your own terms, for the most part.” Yoko pats Yuya’s cheek. “Just be yourself, he loves you for that.”

Yuya sniffles and hugs his mom tightly. They stay like that for a long time, and only move when Yuri stirs and groans in his sleep.

“Yuri?” Yuya cries, holding Yuri’s shoulders. “Are you okay?”

Yuri opens his eyes. He looks confused for a second, then worried, then sheepish, and finally pained. “Ow,” he mutters.

“Whats wrong?” Yuya asks.

“My hand,” Yuri says, looking down at the heavy bandages. “It hurts! I didn’t even notice yesterday.”

Yuya sighs, and then yelps as his mother physically moves him aside. She pulls Yuri into her lap and hugs him tightly.

Yuri looks shocked. “What’s this for?”

Yoko’s voice shakes as she says, “Honey I’ve been so worried for you. Does anything else hurt besides your hand?”

Yuri shakes his head. “No, it’s just my hand.”

Yoko leans back and strokes Yuri’s hair, her expression full of love. “I’m so sorry you went through this. I spoke to Yusho this morning, he stayed with Stitch all night.”

“He did?” Yuri interrupts, looking both awed and worried. “He didn’t have to…is Stitch okay?”

“He’s fine,” Yoko says, “He stayed because he knew you would be terrified if Stitch was alone. The vet says you can come get Stitch as soon as you’re released from the hospital. He’ll need to take it easy for a few days, just like you, but he’s going to make a full recovery.”

Yuri looks down. “I’m sorry,” he says quietly. “I shouldn’t have gone out alone…”

“You did nothing wrong,” Yoko says firmly. “This was not your fault Yuri, do you hear me? I know that, Yusho knows that, and Stitch knows that.”

“Do you really think so?” Yuri asks.

Yoko nods. “I know so, baby.” She hugs Yuri again. “I’m just so glad that you’re okay.” She kisses his forehead. “I love you so much, honey.”

Yuri gulps and looks over Yoko’s shoulder at Yuya. Yuya smiles at him, and Yuri closes his eyes and says, “I love you too, mom.”

Yoko cries, Yuri cries, and Yuya just starts to tear up when there’s a knock on the door.

Yuto pokes his head in, sees everyone in tears, and looks terrified. “What happened?”

“Yuto!” Yoko shouts, and she looks both relieved and furious. “Where have you been?”

“We’re fine!” Yuya assures Yuto, “They’re happy tears.”

Yuri wipes his face. “The heck is going on?”

Yoko stands up, still holding Yuri’s uninjured hand. “Where are your brothers?” She snaps, “You three have some explaining to do.”

Yugo and Sora shove Yuto aside. “We’re here!” Yugo says, “We just, we…we have a present for Yuri!”

“Me?” Yuri echoes.

Yugo and Sora move aside. Shun and Noboru march into the room, each holding a scruffy-looking teenage boy by the arm. Serena follows closely, her eyes glued to the boys.

Yuri gasps and looks fearful for a second, then furious. “What is going on?”

“So they are the ones who hurt you,” Yuto confirms.

Yuri nods, and Yuya sit next to him and wraps his arms around Yuri’s shoulders protectively. The boys don’t look like they want to cause trouble, they look like they’ve been put though the ringer. Their clothes are dusty and their faces are drawn.

“What are they doing here?” Yuya asks.

Yuto glares at the boys, “Go on, talk to my brother.”

The boys look up at Yuri. “We’re sorry that we hurt you,” they say together.

Yuri’s jaw drops. So does Yuya’s.

Yugo says smugly, “And they’re going to go to the police and confess to a hate crime for their usage of gay slurs and their assault on Yuri, as well as confess to animal cruelty for kicking Stitch.”

The boys grit their teeth. Serena lifts her arm, duel disk activated, and lets out an actual snarl. The boys flinch back and nod.

Noboru and Shun march the boys out of the room, and as the door opens it becomes apparent that there’s a small army standing in the hallway outside of Yuri’s room.

“What on earth happened?” Yuri asks.

Serena turns around and says nonchalantly, “We just taught them what happens when someone fucks with our brother.”

Yugo sits on Yuri’s bed and hands him Starve Venom dragon. “This guy right here might be able to tell you more,” he says.

Yuri takes the card, looking stunned. He looks out to the hallway, and Dennis skips into the room.

“Hey, Yuri,” he says, plopping down on Yuri’s bed, “How are you feeling?”

“I…I don’t know what to say,” Yuri stammers.

Yuzu, Rin, and Ruri come into the room and fuss over Yuri, exclaiming over his hands and bemoaning that they weren’t tougher on the boys. Reiji comes in and lifts Reira onto the bed, and Reira shoves Yuya aside and snuggles under Yuri’s arm, gently petting his bandaged hand.

Yoko turns to Yuto, Yugo, and Sora. “I assume you all dueled those two bullies into this?”

All three of them nod. “We couldn’t let them get away with hurting Yuri and Stitch,” Yuto says.

“We’re sorry we didn’t tell you,” Yugo adds.

“Really sorry, mom,” Sora says.

Yoko melts. She wraps all three boys into a tight hug, gives them all a kiss on the cheek, and then says, “I’m very proud of you for standing up for your brother, and I love all of you with all my heart. But you three are still grounded for two weeks.”

Yuto nods, Yugo groans, and Sora pouts. Yoko turns to Yuya and he flinches.

“You,” she says, pointing at Yuya, “Stitch is going to be taking care of his business in the back yard until he heals up, and you’ll clean up after him.”

Yuya nods fervently.

“But he’s not grounded, right?” Yuri asks.

Yoko purses her lips. “No, he’s not.”

Yuri grins. “Awesome! Yuya, you can take me out this weekend.”

Yuya blushes and sputters.

Yuzu squeals. “Out? Like a date?”

“I’m irresistible,” Yuri says, leaning his head on Yuya’s shoulder. “He told me so.”

Yuzu, Rin, and Ruri sing, “Yuri and Yuya sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…”

 

In the afternoon, Yusho picks the family up from the hospital. Yuri is released with a prescription for extra-strength pain killers and a strong anti-biotic, as well an antibacterial solution for his hand. He’s instructed to change the bandages on his hand every day and clean the wounds with the antibacterial solution, and come back to the hospital in week so the doctors can see how his hand is healing. They changed the bandages and cleaned the wound before he left, and Yuri saw the damage. He has twenty stitches divided between two deep cuts, and he has five more smaller cuts that have already scabbed over. The doctors say the larger, deep cuts will probably leave a scar.

In the car, Yuri leans against Yuya and stares down at his hand.

“You could probably sue those guys,” Sora says.

“What for?” Yuri asks, “They don’t have money.”

Yuya nuzzles Yuri’s cheek. “You okay?” He asks quietly.

Yuri closes his eyes. “Yeah. I just want to get Stitch and go home.”

“Well, Stitch is excited to see you,” Yusho says. “Every time I said your name to him, he perked up and wagged his tail. He’s a smart dog.”

“He takes after me,” Yuri says.

Yuri acts cool, but the second the car pulls up to the vet’s office, Yuri vaults over Yuya and Sora, flings the car door open and dashes into the building. By the time everyone catches up to him, a vet tech has brought Stitch out, and Yuri is cradling his dog in his arms and sobbing.

“You wonderful, brave, stupid dog,” Yuri cries as Stitch licks his cheek. “What am I going to do with you? Why did you do that? You could have been seriously hurt, dear god you are in so much trouble buster! I’m going to get you the biggest bag of treats I can find and so help me if you don’t eat them all…and I’ll make sure you get real food every night until you feel better…”

“Slow down there,” Yoko says gently, her hands on Yuri’s shoulders, “You don’t want him to get fat do you?”

“Well maybe if he did get fat, this wouldn’t happen again,” Yuri says, sniffling.

Yoko shakes her head. “Oh, Yuri, somehow I don’t think I’ll be able to convince you otherwise.”

Back in the car, Stitch lays on Yuri’s chest and falls asleep. For the first time since all of this happened, Yuri finally feels like he can relax. He has his dog back, he has a date with Yuya coming up, and he has people in his life who consider him a brother and love him enough to stand up for him, when he can’t stand up for himself.

He may have a bandaged, scarred hand, but Yuri would say that overall, he’s got a pretty good life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So did I make up for tearing your hearts to pieces?


End file.
